NeKtar Worldwide today announced it will begin development of a natural dietetic sweetener to be produced in corn, based on the plant protein Brazzein. The Brazzein protein is from a West African plant where it has been consumed locally for many years. The sweetener, extracted from genetically modified corn, promises to be a cost-efficient, natural alternative in the growing non-caloric sweetener market.

"Since this natural, plant-based sweetener can be extracted from corn in a conventional milling
operation while preserving the value of the other corn products, Brazzein is expected to be
extremely cost-effective to produce," said Jim Eckles, president and chief executive officer of
NeKtar Worldwide.

While Brazzein offers another value-added product opportunity for agriculture, the intense
sweetener market represents a wholesale value of $1.4 billion worldwide. This market has grown
rapidly in the past decade and is expected to continue to expand in response to increased
consumption of dietetic foods. NeKtar Worldwide believes consumers will prefer a natural
alternative to products currently on the market.

"We expect to extract one kilogram of Brazzein from a ton of corn processed. This doesn't sound
like much until you realize that this equates in sweetness to at least 1,000 kilograms of sugar," said Eckles. "High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) is the leading sweetener in the United States today, and this technology could produce a new IJECS with twice the sweetness without adding calories."

The Brazzein protein was first isolated and its gene synthesized at the University of Wisconsin by
Dr. Ding Ming as part of his doctoral research under Dr. Goren Hellekant. A leading expert on
taste perception, Dr. Hellekant said, "Brazzein is 2,000 times sweeter than sucrose, is highly stable and has sensory qualities that allow it to replace other products currently on the market."

Several international companies are developing the Brazzein technology for application in fresh
produce crops, but NeKtar Worldwide has the exclusive rights for its use as an extracted
sweetener however produced. The company will explore several production options in plants as
well as fermentation.

NeKtar also announced today it will team up with ProdiGene, Inc., for the development,
production and extraction of the sweetener from plants. ProdiGene will provide the technical
capabilities and enabling technologies required to develop an efficient production system in corn.

John A. Howard, president and chief executive officer of ProdiGene, said, "'We believe corn offers
the most efficient long-term production option for the sweetener. We are excited to collaborate
with NeKtar to bring this natural sweetener to the food industry. The project fits our business
strategy and the technologies of our companies are highly complementary."

NeKtar Worldwide is based in College Station, Texas. It will develop its products in collaboration
with corn processing and food companies, which will be testing the new sweetener within the year.

ProdiGene, based in College Station, Texas, is a biotechnology company that develops genetically engineered plants which produce novel recombinant proteins. It has experienced commercial success extracting high-value recombinant proteins from corn and its large portfolio of patents and broad technical base make it the leading company in this exciting new field.

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